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| UNITED STATES OF AMERICA J 



DUTIES 



OF A 



PASTOR TO HIS CHURCH. 



BY 



TIBERIUS GRACCHUS JONES, 



NORFOLK, VIRGINIA. 

1 



>X 



These things write I unto thee * * * that thou mayest know 
how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is 
the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. 



CHARLESTON, S. C. ! 

SOUTHERN BAPTIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY. 

RICHMOND : 

YIRGINIA BAPTIST S. S. AND PUBLICATION SOCIETY. 

1853. 







J 4 D ' 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1853, by 
SOUTHERN BAPTIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY, 

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, 
for the District of South Carolina. 



The Library 
of Congress 

WASHINGTON 



^IIDbtttB, 



CHAPTER I. 

PASTORAL RELATION AND SPIRIT. 

Nature of the Pastoral Relation. Its importance. 
The spirit necessary to fulfil the obligations of the 
Pastoral office. 

CHAPTER II. 

THE DUTY OF PREACHING. 

Chief Duty of the Pastor — to preach. Proper re- 
gard to relative importance of different Truths. Error 
must be assailed and expelled. Forms in which 
Truth may be presented with advantage. Necessity 
of diligent and thorough Study. Importance of good 
elocution. 

CHAPTER III. 

PERSONAL PIETY. 

Necessity of prayer and faith. The pastor must 
illustrate his teaching by his conduct. 

CHAPTER IV. 

PRIVATE MINISTRATIONS. 

Pastoral Visitation. Spirit in which its various 
duties should be performed. Benefits to the Pastor — 
to the Church. 



CHAPTER V. 

GOVERNMENT OF THE CHURCH. 

Nature and extent of the Pastor's authority. Re- 
ception of members. Administration of discipline. 
Management of business meetings. 

CHAPTER VI. 

GENERAL OVERSIGHT OF THE INTERESTS 

OF THE CHURCH. 

Necessity of accessions to the church. Improper 
means of making additions. Ordinary and extraor- 
dinary efforts. Revivals. The Pastor must stimu- 
late his people to activity in every good work. Mis- 
sions — Sunday Schools. Religious books and jour- 
nals. 

CHAPTER VII. 

EXCLUSIVE DEVOTION TO PASTORAL LABORS. 

Avoidance of secular pursuits. Necessity of Pas- 
toral support. Charge of more churches than one. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

CHANGE OF PASTORAL RELATION. 

Migratory character of our Ministry. Evils re- 
sulting. Change of pastoral relations sometimes 
necessary. Spirit in which it should be made. 

CHAPTER IX. 

SUCCESSION IN THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 

Provision against leaving the church without a 
pastor. Encouragement of the gifts of the young. 
Proper caution in ordaining. 



CHAPTER I. 

^nsinntl Erlatimr md Iptrit- 

Nature of the Pastoral Relation — Its Importance — 
The Spirit necessary to fulfil the obligations of the 
Pastoral office. 

[TrlHE church in its widest and best 
ik sense, consists of all those who truly 
believing in Christ, love and obey him. 
This is the church universal and invisible. 
It has no outward organization and no 
earthly head. Its organization is spirit- 
ual. Its only head is Christ. In the 
sense in which it will be regarded in the 
following pages, the church, or more pro- 
perly, a church, is composed of persons, 
baptized upon a profession of faith in 
Christ, who meet statedly in some fixed 
place for divine worship, and the observ- 



6 DUTIES OF A PASTOR 

ance of the ordinances of the gospel. Of 
this as of the church universal and invisi- 
ble, Christ is also the head, and the only- 
authoritative and supreme ruler. It has, 
however, an actual and visible organiza- 
tion. And when complete, it embraces in 
addition to the body of those who com- 
pose it, certain executive officers, the de- 
sign of whose appointment is to concen- 
trate, direct, and render effective the 
resources and energies of the church. The 
highest in rank and the most important of 
these officers, is the pastor or bishop. He 
is its head — but not supreme. At any 
time the church, having invested him 
with authority, can divest him of it. He 
is its teacher — but not infallible. From his 
instructions appeal can always be made 
to the oracles of God. He is its guide — 
but not unerring. He is to be followed 
only as he follows Christ. 

The union between a pastor and a 
church is, or should be, formed by the 
voluntary action of both parties; and should 
be based upon mutual respect, confidence 
and love. A union more important is 



TO HIS CHURCH. / 

perhaps unknown on earth. It involves 
duties the most sacred and momentous — 
duties reciprocal and correlative, which 
alike bind and affect both parties. How T 
numerous and weighty are the duties of a 
church to its pastor ! The duties of a 
pastor to his church are equally important. 
A brief consideration of some of these, is 
the design of this essay. 

It has been briefly stated what a 
church of Christ is — and what are some 
of the chief relations of a pastor to it. 
How pure and disinterested should be his 
spirit ! Otherwise how many and grie- 
vous will be the evils he will entail 
upon his people ! For although Christ 
is, as already observed, the supreme head 
of every church, and has in the absolute 
sense no vicegerent, yet does a pastor 
called by his Spirit, and by himself placed 
over the flock, stand in some respects in 
his place. He may never transcend the 
limits of his sphere, usurp authority, or 
in any sense "lord it over God's heritage," 
and yet possessing talent, prudence, and 
piety, he is in most instances, the actual 



8 



DUTIES OF A PASTOR 



ruler of the church over which he pre- 
sides. Great then is the power of the 
christian pastor! High and solemn are 
his duties ! Awful the responsibilities 
which rest upon him ! Rightly to exer- 
cise this power — faithfully to discharge 
these duties — honorably to meet these 
responsibilities, is to fulfil the highest 
mission on this earth. How shall it be 
accomplished ? " Who is sufficient for 
these things?" One principle alone, in con- 
nection with the divine assistance which 
it presupposes and involves, can enable him 
to be true to his trust. That principle 
is not found in distinguished natural 
abilities — nor in profound and varied at- 
tainments — nor in unceasing, and invinci- 
ble industry. It is love — love to God 
and to man — to truth and to holiness. 
"Love is the fulfilling of the law" — every 
law — all law. This is what above all 
other things the pastor needs. It is the 
brightest of the graces of the Spirit. It 
is the mightiest of the powers of nature. 
Inspired by this divine principle, the 
christian shepherd leads his flock into 



TO HIS CHURCH. 9 

green pastures, and beside the still wa- 
ters — he watches over them during the 
long and wearisome day, and through the 
gloom of the dark night — and if there 
be one wanderer from the fold, he braves 
even the hardships and dangers of the 
wilderness, to bring the lost one back, — 
finally like the Good Shepherd, who is his 
prototype and chief, if need be, he gives 
his life for the sheep. 

The duties of a pastor to his church ! 
It is difficult to enumerate them all — 
and more difficult still properly to state 
and enforce their claims. When we 
consider these duties with reference to all 
that is involved in preaching the word — pas- 
toral visitation — government of the church 
— and the general oversight of all its in- 
terests — how imposing and solemn do 
they appear! We wonder not that in 
view of them the boldest are sometimes 
appalled, and the strongest grow faint. 
Nothing but the wisdom that cometh from 
above, strength that omnipotence alone can 
vouchsafe, and a love stronger than 
death, can suffice for their fulfilment. 



CHAPTER II. 

€)t Sntit nf ^rtfltliing. 

Chief Duty of the Pastor — to preach. Proper re- 
gard to relative importance of different Truths. Error 
must be assailed and expelled. Forms in which 
Truth may be presented with advantage. Necessity 
of diligent and thorough Study Importance of good 
Elocution. 

The great duty of the pastor is to 
preach the Gospel. It must be preached 
publicly and privately — in season and out 
of season — preached from the pulpit to 
" the great congregation" — preached from 
house to house, and by the way-side — 
preached in the hovels of the poor, in the 
halls of wealth and fashion, and gaiety and 
sin — preached in the abodes of health, 
and at the bed-side of the sick and dy- 
ing — preached in word and in deed. 

It is taken for granted that the pastor 
is himself in possession of the truth — and 
that it is not only in his head, and on 
his tongue, but in his heart, enshrined on 



TO HIS CHURCH. 11 

its highest and holiest altars — otherwise 
he will be a "blind leader of the blind." 
Spiritual truth differs from natural. It 
demands more than a mere mental com- 
prehension. It must be realized by the 
heart. As that illustrious philosopher and 
christian, Pascal, remarks, the eyes of the 
heart are the optics of true wisdom. 
Thus understanding and embracing the 
truth himself, the pastor's first and most 
important w T ork is to preach it to his flock. 
As this was the instrument employed by 
the Spirit in their conversion, so it is the 
medium of their sanctification. Truth is 
the proper aliment of the soul, in all the 
stages of its xlevelopement. It is " the 
sincere milk," by which the babe in 
Christ is nourished and made to grow. 
It is the "strong meat," by which the 
man is sustained in healthful vigor. It is 
the bread of life, and the "water of life," to 
refresh, and strengthen, and nourish all. 
The life, the growth, the health, the vigour 
of the christian, then, depend upon the 
supplies of truth which he receives. And 
he must receive them frequently and re- 



12 DUTIES OF A PASTOR 

gularly, else he will weaken, sicken and 
die. Truth is not only the aliment of the 
soul — it is its light. "Thy word is a 
lamp unto my feet and a light unto my 
path. 5 ' It is the light of the sun, which 
not only illumines, but warms. And the 
rays of to-day will not suffice for to- 
morrow. They w T ill be absorbed by the 
dark soul, as the opaque earth absorbs the 
solar rays. 

It is proper to remark that the pastor 
should preach to his people nothing but 
the truth. By this it is not meant that 
he should not introduce into his discourses 
any fact or principle that is not derived in 
definite and palpable form from the Word 
of God. So far from it, he should be 
urged to lay nature, and science, and art, 
— the past, the present, and the future, — 
all under contribution to the gospel. 
They all may be pressed legitimately 
into its service, and made to illustrate 
and enforce its truths. But he should 
not, as is too often done, throw truth's 
beauteous robe over some form of error, 
and give it to the embraces of his peo- 



TO HIS CHURCH. 13 

pie. He should not blend with the sweet 
words and tones of faith, the discordant 
utterances of infidelity. He should not, 
like many beyond the seas, and some on 
our own shores, preach a dreamy, trans- 
cendental mysticism at war with truth and 
reason, and God and man, and call it 
the only philosophy worthy of the mind, 
and " the only spirituality worthy of the 
heart. He should not enforce the words 
of Christ, by quotations from Socrates 
and Plato, Cicero and Seneca — rather 
than from Peter and Paul, and James, 
and John. He should not call into re- 
quisition all his powers of thought and 
emotion, voice and gesture, to describe 
the death of some pagan hero, and tell 
in weak and vapid phrase, with cold 
heart, motionless frame, and tearless eye, 
of the death of Christ. He should not 
use a text of Holy Scripture as some vile 
gymnast does a vaulting-board — making 
the word of God the basis of mere mental 
vagaries and poetic rhapsodies. He was 
not called by the Spirit of God, and set apart 
by the church of Christ, for work like 



14 DUTIES OF A PASTOR 

this. Nor, although he should be . a 
spirited and useful citizen, feeling and 
manifesting an interest in all that is pro- 
motive of man's temporal, as well as 
spiritual welfare, was he thus called and 
set apart to connect with the preaching of 
the gospel, lectures to the people on the 
philosophy of government, or to scholars 
on the mythologies of Greece and Rome, 
or to the lovers of logic and metaphys- 
ics, on the systems of Aristotle and of 
Kant. He was appointed to his sacred 
office to preach the gospel, knowing 
"nothing among men, save Jesus Christ, 
and him crucified." And he should be- 
ware lest he spoil his people "through 
philosophy and vain deceit, after the tra- 
dition of men, after the rudiments of the 
world, and not after Christ." Avoiding 
"profane and vain babblings, and opposi- 
tions of science, falsely so called," let 
him "hold fast the form of sound words, 
and study to show himself approved 
unto God, a workman that needeth not 
to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word 
of truth." 



TO HIS CHURCH. 15 

The pastor must not only preach the 
gospel and nought else, but what illus- 
trates and enforces it — he must preach 
it in its different parts, according to 
their relative importance, and the charac- 
ter and circumstances of Ms people, — 
To do this, he will find good judgment 
always necessary, and often much of the 
spirit of self-denial. There are times, 
when in the choice of subjects for dis- 
cussion, he must not at all regard v\hat 
might suit the state of his own heart, 
the order of his own mind, or his pe- 
culiar tastes and acquisitions ; hut only 
what the exigencies of the church re- 
quire. 

He should never, through bigotry or 
partizanship, give any one truth or class 
of truths, an unscriptural prominence. — 
Whenever this has been done, it has 
not failed to produce the most injurious 
results ; many of which have fallen 
most heavily upon the pastor himself., — 
It has prevented that delicate adjustment 
and symmetrical developement of the 
spiritual faculties, which truth in its 



16 DUTIES OF A PASTOR 

harmony and fullness alone can produce, 
and which is so necessary to the hap- 
piness and efficiency of every Christian, 
and especially the Christian minister. It 
has fettered the noblest powers of the 
mind. It has restrained and stifled the 
most generous impulses of the heart. 
It has given zeal without knowledge. — 
It has substituted spiritual pride for the 
humility so becoming a follower of Je- 
sus. And the charity " which sufTereth 
long and is kind," it has sometimes dis- 
placed by intolerance and malignity. — 
Thus has exclusive devotion to a part 
of the blessed system of the gospel, 
(which is a glorious unity,) and indiffer- 
ence to all the rest, withered the soul 
of many a minister, and brought his 
intellect, and character, and labors, all 
into contempt. 

But not only has the minister himself 
been injured — the church has also deeply 
suffered — its members participating in 
the narrow views and illiberal feelings 
of their pastor. Or if not so, a want 
of sympathy between him and themselves 



TO HIS CHURCH. 17 

has prevented any true co-operation, and 
rendered spiritual enjoyment and efficien- 
cy impossible. Farther than this — and 
worse — the truth itself has suffered. — 
Not only that which an unwise and big- 
oted advocacy has rendered odious and 
unpopular, but the whole system of which 
it is an essential part. The progress of 
the gospel has been retarded. Christ 
has been wounded in the house of his 
friends. 

On the other hand, not giving due 
'prominence to some truths, whether from 
motives of pride, or fear, or worldly 
advantage, has been productive of incal- 
culable evil. All the essential doctrines 
of the gospel should be stated and in- 
sisted upon, until they are understood 
and received. The over-sensitive, the 
timid, or the time-serving, may perhaps 
object when some unpopular or warmly 
controverted truth is very earnestly pro- 
posed. But let not him who is " set 
for the defence of the gospel," falter. 
His duty is clear, and it must be per- 
formed at every hazard. Christ estab- 



18 DUTIES OF A PASTOR 

lished the church as the depository cf 
his truth — and that is no true church, 
but a " synagogue of Satan," that will 
not receive it. He made her its guar- 
dian. Shall she crouch before its foes, 
and yield the precious treasure which 
has been committed to her charge? — 
He has made her its dispenser, through 
her own chosen sons, and shall she 
herself, seal their lips ? 

This great duty of the pastor, to 
preach the truth, the whole truth, and 
nothing but the truth, cannot be too 
urgently pressed upon his attention. — 
How awfully solemn is the charge up- 
on this subject, of Paul to Timothy : 
" I charge thee therefore before God, 
and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall 
judge the quick and the dead at his 
appearing, and his kingdom, preach the 
word, be instant in season, out of seas- 
on, for the time will come when they 
will not endure sound doctrine, but after 
their own lusts shall they heap to them- 
selves teachers, having itching ears, and 
they shall turn away their ears from the 



TO HIS CHURCH. 19 

truth, and shall be turned unto fables." 
To render the truth effective, it will 
sometimes be necessary first of all to 
assail error and expel it from the mind. 
It is as important to remove deadly poi- 
son from the system which has imbibed 
it, as it is to give nutritious food to 
supply the wastes of nature. Error is 
the deadliest poison — a poison that sick- 
ens and destroys, not the body, but the 
soul. As truth is its proper antidote, 
error may sometimes be overcome by en- 
forcing the opposite truth. But not al- 
ways. The law of impenetrability has a 
spiritual as well as physical application. 
And error may have so thoroughly pre- 
occupied the mind, as that until it is 
expelled, truth cannot effect an entrance. 
Genuine toleration is a noble principle. 
But there is a vast deal that is spu- 
rious. Utterly so. Carried out, it would 
suffer sin and error in all their forms, 
and in infinite degrees, to go unrebuked. 
And there are not a few, w T ho boast such 
a toleration as this. Their eyes are 
pained, and their hearts bleed almost 



20 DUTIES OF A PASTOR 

equally when error is assailed, as when 
truth itself is the object of attack. — 
"Hold forth the light of truth," say 
they, "and the darkness of error will 
be dispelled." A sophism is couched in 
their illustration. Darkness is but a 
shadow. Error is a substance instinct 
with life and action. Stripped of its 
own black mantle, it often makes for it- 
self a robe of the living light of truth. 
These tolerant and peace-loving ones have 
forgotten that the gospel is aggressive. 
"I am come," said Christ, "to send 
fire on the earth, and what will I if it 
be already kindled?" And again, in 
the same connection — "Suppose ye that 
I am come to send peace on earth? I 
tell you nay — but rather division." 

In proof of the propriety of some- 
times attacking error, we have the ex- 
ample of Jehovah himself, and the holy 
men of old w 7 hom he inspired. How 
awful are the denunciations against error 
in every form, which are found in 
the law and the prophets! Meek, 
too, as w r as the Son of God, he often 



TO HIS CHURCH. 21 

made the most direct and pointed at- 
tacks upon false doctrine. The apostles 
followed his example. And so have 
done the wisest and best of their suc- 
cessors in every age, when the exigen- 
cies of the church and the world de- 
manded it. Was it necessary to assail 
error in the days of the prophets, and 
apostles, and reformers, and is it not 
necessary in ours? Has error fled from 
the earth? Or has it grown less dead- 
ly? Or has man at length found an am- 
ulet, unknown to his fathers, to shield 
him from its blighting influence ? None 
of these things. It would seem that 
w T e are in the midst of the very times 
alluded to by Paul in his first letter to 
Timothy, and more fully described in a 
very significant passage in the second. 
"Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that 
in the latter times some shall depart 
from the faith, giving heed to sedu- 
cing spirits, and doctrines of devils ; 
speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their 
conscience seared w T ith a hot iron, 
forbidding to marry, and commanding to 



22 DUTIES OF A PASTOR 

abstain from meats, which God hath 
created to be received with thanksgiv- 
ing of them which believe and know 
the truth." (1 Tim. iv: 1,2, 3.) "This 
know also, that in the last days, perilous 
times shall come. For men shall be 
lovers of their own selves, covetous, 
boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient 
to parents, unthankful, unholy, without 
natural affection, truce-breakers, false-ac- 
cusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of 
those that are good, traitors, heady, 
high-minded, lovers of pleasure more 
than lovers of God ; having a form of 
godliness, but denying the power there- 
of. Of this sort are they which creep 
into houses, and lead captive silly women 
laden with sins, led away with divers 
lusts, ever learning, and never able to 
come to the knowledge of the truth. — 
Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood 
Moses, so do these also resist the truth : 
men of corrupt minds, reprobate concern- 
ing the faith." (2 Tim. iii. 1—8.) 
The very picture, in some of its leading 
features, of our times ! Error is still 



TO HIS CHURCH. 23 

rife in the world. Error, attractive in 
many of its forms, while its essence is 
destructive. Its advocates are found in 
all the walks of life. Never had they 
more audacity and energy, or talent and 
learning. And never were they more 
successful. Their baleful influence is felt 
in all communities. It pervades the ci- 
ties and large towns of the world — it 
has penetrated every village, and hamlet, 
and neighborhood. No church is safe. 
No single soul is safe. At every haz- 
ard let these ministers of evil be with- 
stood. Whatever the result, let their er- 
rors be opposed. 

The pastor should vigilantly guard his 
pulpit. There is some danger that a foe 
in the guise of a friend may enter it. — 
There are " false prophets which come 
in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are 
ravening: wolves." Through mere cour- 
tesy, policy, or false liberality, individuals 
of questionable personal and ministerial 
character, are sometimes invited to preach. 
This is exceedingly unwise. It is to 
little purpose that the pastor himself as- 



24 DUTIES OF A PASTOR 

siduously studies to give only scriptural 
and wholesome instruction, if he permits 
others to impart what is false and injurious. 
It is also his duty to guard the 
firesides of the people. Around them he 
should throw the strongest bulwarks of 
the truth. " Take heed therefore," said 
Paul to the Ephesian elders, " unto your 
selves, and to all the flock over the which 
the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, 
to feed the church of God which he 
hath purchased with his own blood. — 
For I know this, that after my departing 
shall grievous wolves enter in among you, 
not sparing the flock. Also of your own 
selves shall men arise, speaking perverse 
things, to draw away disciples after them. 
Therefore watch, and remember that by 
the space of three years I ceased not to 
warn every one night and day with tears." 
As man, however, even when brought 
to some extent under the benign influ- 
ence of the religion of peace, has still a 
strong proclivity to strife, the pastor should 
guard himself against an excessively ag- 
gressive spirit* Let him not love or en- 



TO HIS CHURCH. 25 

gage in controversy for its own sake. — 
And when impelled by a sense of duty 
to his people, to his faith, and to his 
God, to oppose error, he should earnest- 
ly pray for grace to do it with becoming 
charity and prudence. 

The form in w T hich the truth should 
be presented, is of sufficient importance 
to receive at least a passing notice. 

A series of connected discourses will some- 
times be found highly advantageous. — 
There are many truths so closely connect- 
ed as to lose much of their beauty and 
power when treated separately. The pro- 
priety of presenting such a series, will 
depend greatly upon the order of the 
preacher's mind, the nature and extent 
of his acquirements, and the spiritual 
condition of his hearers. 

The truth may be successfully dispensed 
in the form of lectures. They give 
scope and freedom to the mind, and 
enable the lecturer to present his topics 
in all their scriptural fulness, with great- 
er facility than is practicable in more 
formal and strictly methodical discourses. 



26 DUTIES OF A PASTOR 

The simplest and sometimes the best 
form in which the truth can be im- 
parted, particularly to the young, is that 
usually adopted in the instruction of Bi- 
ble-classes. An advantage which the en- 
lightened and faithful pastor will not fail 
to turn to good account, is that he is 
brought into contact with individuals, 
rather than with masses. Opportuni- 
ties not enjoyed in large assemblies, 
are thus afforded for adapting himself 
to the peculiar character and wants of all 
his auditors, and for presenting the truth 
with so much directness that it can- 
not be evaded. 

But valuable as lectures and the in- 
structions of the Bible-class may be, 
they cannot always supply the place of 
sermons founded upon brief and isolated 
passages of the Word of God. The tastes 
of large promiscuous assemblies, and the 
nature of much that is to be unfolded 
or enforced, alike demand more or less 
of strictly systematic discourse. 

The manner of imparting the truth, is 
of very great importance. It is only less 



TO HIS CHURCH. 27 

important than the truth itself. From 
ancient times it has been decided that ac- 
tion is eloquence. Action is the language 
of nature. It is more delicate and flex- 
ible, and richer and stronger, than that 
which is arbitrary and conventional. It 
is an universal language. And when em- 
ployed, no one of any age, or class, or coun- 
try, needs an interpreter. A smile — a frown 
— a sigh — a tear — an attitude — can tell 
more than words. There are niceties of 
thought and delicacies of feeling, which 
the soul in presence of other souls, can 
communicate in its own sublimated style, 
that can be translated into no conventional 
phrase. Like highly volatile, etherial 
substances, they would exhale in the pro- 
cess. What pity is it, and how strange, 
that this natural language, man's vernac- 
ular, should so generally be lost. Lost 
so far as that it can not at will be spo- 
ken, although it can never cease to be 
understood. Every public speaker should 
seek to regain it. It is especially in- 
cumbent on the preacher of the gospel. 
He speaks to all classes and conditions — 



28 DUTIES OF A PASTOR 

to all degrees cf culture — to every diver- 
sity of character. He speaks what is of 
infinite moment to all. Let him use the 
language which all understand and feel. 
Many a discourse elaborately prepa- 
red, falls on inattentive ears, from want 
of power in its delivery. It comes with no 
projectile force, and however intrinsically 
weighty, has no momentum. It was not 
always by argument, that Mirabeau re- 
versed the votes of the French Na- 
tional Assembly. He sometimes did 
it by a single sentence. A sentence 
uttered in a voice that fell on the ear 
like the unexpected peal of the thunder, 
and accompanied by the glance of an eye 
that flashed and blazed like the light- 
ning. It was not a very stern and 
rigid logic in the elder Pitt by which 
u he ruled the wildness of free minds 
with an unbounded authority," in the 
British House of Commons. Nor was 
it this by which 

"The forest-born Demosthenes, 
Whose thunder shook the Philip of the seas," 

swayed the House of Burgesses of Vir- 



TO HIS CHURCH. 29 

ginia. It was not even their "omnipo- 
tent sweep of thought," by which these 
men won their triumphs. It was ora- 
tory. It was action. Their superiority 
was elocutionary. Like the strength of 
Samscn lying in his locks, the power 
of these masters of the human mind and 
heart, lay in voice, and look, and ges- 
ture, and attitude. Similar observations 
might be made with respect to the most 
illustrious orators of the pulpit. The 
principles of eloquence are every where 
the same. Whitfield was not a very 
eminent scholar — not a very subtle and 
acute logician. But he was, both by na- 
ture and by study, an elocutionist and a 
rhetorician. 

It is to be regretted that there is so 
strong and general a prejudice on the 
part of the ministry against the study of 
elocution — and that with so many worthy 
and in some instances learned men, mat- 
ter seems to be everything — manner, noth- 
ing. The cultivation of the voice, by 
special exercise and study, whatever some 
may think of it, is not below the digni- 



30 DUTIES OF A PASTOR 

ty of the pastor's character and station. 
It is his duty, if it be harsh and offen- 
sive to the ear, to endeavour by all 
proper means to soften and refine it — 
if weak, to strengthen it — if monoto- 
nous and with difficulty managed, to 
control and modulate its tones. Nor is 
gesture unworthy of his care. "We 
learn from Cicero,' 5 says Blair, "that it 
was a contest between him and Roscius 
whether he could express a sentiment in 
a greater variety of phrases, or Ros- 
cius in a greater number of signi- 
ficant gestures." If the preacher should 
not "at the glass" practise "the stare 
and start theatric," he should at least so 
cultivate his gesture, as to make it at 
once significant and appropriate, easy and 
natural. 

In all that pertains to the delivery of 
his sermons, he should be simple — affec- 
tionate — grave — earnest— fearless. By ev- 
ery consideration of propriety, taste, 
duty, and usefulness, let his manner be 
his own. Let him be no imitater. We 
have the authority of the great Roman 



TO HIS CHURCH. 31 

orator for saying that " every man's own 
way is the true way." All servile imi- 
taters of others have more or less of a 
disgusting affectation. And affectation is 
scarcely tolerable in a woman. It is 
contemptible in a man. It is absurd and 
revolting, not to say wicked, in a pro- 
fessed disciple and minister of Him who 
while he dwelt among men, was 
the most unaffected and natural of 
beings. There is no true eloquence un- 
less one feels what he says. And just 
so soon as a speaker is moved by strong 
and genuine feeling, does he drop the 
manner of others, if he be an imitater, 
and assume his own. Eloquence is sin- 
cere, honest, and truthful. It cannot 
be counterfeited. The only way to 
be eloquent, is to be natural. And it 
is a sure way. Every man of purely 
natural manner, whatever the original 
character of his mind, or the degree of 
its culture, is eloquent. 

It is evident that to dispense the 
truth, and oppose error in its protean 



32 DUTIES OF A PASTOR 

shapes, successfully, will require in addi- 
tion to piety and natural ability, diligent 
and thorough study. The necessity for 
such study on the part of all who as- 
pire to places of usefulness and honor, 
is greater now than it ever was. And 
upon the minister of the gospel, this ne- 
cessity presses w T ith more weight than 
upon any other character. He may have 
passed through the college and the theo- 
logical seminary, and received all the 
benefits which they can bestow. But these 
alone, will not suffice. The goal to 
which they have borne him, is but the 
starting-post of his true career. And if 
he shall not go beyond it, the prize of 
high and fadeless honor will be lost. To 
him who has not had these advanta- 
ges, close and persevering study is ob- 
viously of even more importance than to 
him who has enjoyed them. Many a 
long, and lonely, and weary step must 
he take, before he can reach the vantage- 
ground on which the more highly favor- 
ed stand. But let him not be discour- 
aged. Let him 



TO HIS CHURCH, 33 

"Argue not 
Against Heaven's hand or will, nor bate a jot 
Of heart or hope, but still bear up and steer 
Right inward-," 

and his achievements may equal theirs. — 
They may surpass them. At least, with 
them he shall reach the ultimate and true 
goal, and with them share the true glo- 

But while the minister of Jesus may 
lawfully aspire to eminence in all useful 
learning, mere scholarship should not be 
the object of his studies. He should 
have an ambition infinitely higher. That 
this is not always so, is deeply to be deplo- 
red. There is reason to believe that many a 
preacher is more solicitous to prove himself a 
scholar by his pulpit ministrations, than 
by his scholarship to make full proof of 
his ministry. How manifest is it that 
many sermons have been planned, and 
prepared, and preached to exhibit the re- 
fined taste, varied learning, or profound 
research of the preacher, rather than 
clearly to state, and strongly to enforce 
the truth as it is in Jesus. They abound 
in classical allusions felicitously introduced — 



34 



DUTIES OF A PASTOR 



but they have few quotations from the 
Word of God. They are full of the 
facts of human science, and the princi- 
ples of human philosophy — but they are 
nearly devoid of spiritual truth. Such 
preaching may indeed be " as a very 
lovely song of one that hath a very pleas- 
ant voice, and can play well on an 
instrument, 55 but it is very different 
from that of him who made Fe- 
lix tremble, and almost persuaded 
Agrippa to be a christian. " Christ sent 
me, 55 says he to the Corinthians, u to 
preach the gospel, not with wisdom of 
words, lest the cross of Christ should be 
made of none effect. 55 True to his high 
mission, he afterwards tells them, " And 
I, brethren, when I came to you, came 
not with excellency of speech, or of wis- 
dom, declaring unto you the testimony of 
God. For I determined not to know 
anything among you, save Jesus Christ, 
and him crucified. And my speech and 
my preaching was not with enticing words 
of man's wisdom, but in demonstration 
of the Spirit, and with power, that your 



TO HIS CHURCH. 35 

faith should not stand in the wisdom of 
men, but in the power of God," The chief 
cause of the inefficiency as preachers 
and pastors, of so many fine scholars, is 
here suggested. The fault is not in 
their scholarship. It is in too great de- 
votion to it. In making it an end, rath- 
er than a means. Paul was the most 
learned, and at the same time probably 
the most useful, of all the preachers of 
the early church. 

In this connection it may be well to 
remark, that in his studies he should not 
have too great reference to authorship. — 
He may write. And if he have ability 
he ought to write. Through the press 
he may exert a wider influence, in the 
dissemination of truth, than he could pos- 
sibly from the pulpit. But the preacher's 
pen can never take the place of the 
preacher's tongue. Many an author- 
preacher, while he has " spread a sound- 
ing name abroad," has failed to inscribe 
it on his people's grateful hearts ; and 
has perhaps placed himself in a category 
similar to that of him who neglecting 



36 DUTIES OF A PASTOR 

u his own household hath denied the 
faith, and is worse than an infidel." 

While not unmindful of the necessity 
of proper unity and concentration in his 
studies, and placing- due restraint upon 
the discursive tendencies of the mind, 
he should seek, so far as is practicable, 
some acquaintance with all the depart- 
ments of human knowledge. That was 
a noble declaration made by Bacon in 
his youth, and prompted by worthy aspi- 
rations and conscious power rather than 
by vanity — "I have taken the fields of 
universal knowledge for my heritage/' — 
Variety of knowledge, as well as pro- 
fundity, is of great advantage to the 
pastor. It furnishes him in the pulpit, 
in the social circle, and in all the walks 
of life, with the means of reaching and 
impressing w T ith the force of truth, differ- 
ent classes of mind. Therefore, in ac- 
cordance with the injunction of the 
Apostle, let him " give attendance to 
reading" — reading varied, extensive, and 
profound, as his circumstances will al- 
low. 



TO HIS CHURCH. 37 

But however useful many of the branch- 
es of human knowledge may be, none 
of them, nor all of them combined, are 
so necessary to him, as the knowledge of 
the Word of God. Like the Psalmist, 
he should make the testimonies of God. 
his counselors. " All scripture is given 
by inspiration ot God, and is profitable 
for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, 
for instruction in righteousness ; that the 
man of God may be perfect, thoroughly 
furnished unto all good works." To the 
study of the Bible, let him devote him- 
self with all the powers of his intellect, 
and with all the affections of his heart. 
Having for the oracles of God, the 
love and reverence which they deserve, 
and studying them with the deepest in- 
terest and attention himself, he should 
strive to impress with supreme regard for 
their heavenly teachings, the hearts of all 
his people. Truth as truth — God's truth — 
is that which above all other things they 
should love, and seek, and cherish. It 
is infinitely above names, and forms, 
and parties. When these, with the heav- 



38 DUTIES OF A PASTOR. 

ens and the earth, shall have passed away, 
that shall endure, like Him from whom 
it came, immutable and eternal. 



CHAPTER III. 

Necessity of prayer and faith. The pastor must 
illustrate his teaching by his conduct. 

i/TK] give efficiency to all his labors 
sl^ the pastor must be a man of prayer. 
"The effectual fervent prayer of a right- 
eous man availeth much." He must 
pray with faith. They can conquer, who 
believe they can, said an ancient pagan. 
In a nobler sense, and with higher em- 
phasis, can the believer in Jesus make 
that declaration. Nothing can resist the 
energy of faith. Possessed even in the 
smallest degree, it gives the power of 
the most marvellous achievement. " If 



40 DUTIES OF A PASTOR 

ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, 
ye shall say unto this mountain, remove 
hence to yonder place, and it shall re- 
move, — and nothing shall be impossible 
unto you." "The prayer of faith shall 
save the sick, and the Lord shall raise 
him up — and if he have committed sins, 
they shall be forgiven him. 55 If, there- 
fore, the pastor would cause the richest 
blessings of Heaven to descend upon 
his people, let him pray with earnestness, 
and constancy, and faith, on their be- 
half. Such prayer w T ill surely be heard 
by Him w r hose ear is ever open to the 
crv of all his faithful servants. His 
ministrations will be blessed. And he 
will have the satisfaction of seeing his 
people " neither barren nor unfruitful in 
the work of our Lord Jesus Christ. 55 

The benefits of prayer to the preacher 
himself, must not be overlooked. Among 
many salutary effects, it quickens and 
stimulates the power of invention. An 
eminent ministerial friend, conversing with 
the writer on this subject, spoke w^ith 
energy and feeling of the happy influence 



TO HIS CHURCH. 41 

in this respect, of the spirit of devotion. 
He had experienced it himself in prepa- 
ration for the pulpit. At times when 
his mind seemed entirely barren, on en- 
gaging in earnest prayer it at once be- 
came more fruitful. Subjects rich in in- 
terest, clear and well defined in all their 
topics, and accompanied by fitting illus- 
trations, presented themselves and took 
possession of his thoughts. 

But upon the duty of prayer, so often 
and so ably urged by others, it is 
not necessary now to enlarge. It is 
sufficient to remark that if the pastor 
neglect it, all his efforts, how 7 ever vigor- 
ous and unceasing, will surely fail of 
any high result. 

He must be deeply impressed with the 
conviction that if he would not rob the 
truth he preaches of its force, he must 
himself live in accordance with its requi- 
sitions. He must exemplify its beauty 
and its power, in his own walk and con- 
versation. His character, so to speak, 
should be the diagram to illustrate and 
prove the spiritual problem, whose solu- 



42 DUTIES OF A PASTOR 

tion is the object of every christian's 
life. He must not only always " speak 
the things which become sound doctrine/' 
but " in all things he must show him- 
self a pattern of good works." The se- 
cret of failure in many instances, is not 
that he is deficient in learning or ability, 
but that in private life he does not prop- 
erly illustrate his public teachings. He 
perhaps preaches the truth with clear- 
ness, cogency, and feeling, and makes a 
good impression upon those who hear 
him; but the advantage thus gained, is 
not followed up when he descends from 
the sacred desk, and mingles with the 
people in the ordinary walks of life. 

The pastor "must have a good report 
of them which are without, lest he fall 
into reproach and the snare of the dev- 
il." This will require the wisdom of 
the serpent, and the harmlessness of the 
dove. Irreligious men closely scrutinize 
the conduct of the private members of 
the church. Much more closely do they 
scrutinize that of its chief officer. Not 
a word escapes. It is remembered and 



TO HIS CHURCH. 



43 



repeated when he thinks it not — and if 
unwisely spoken, greatly to his own in- 
jury and that of the cause he advocates. 

By his whole demeanor he should con- 
vince men of the w^orld. that he is above 
the unholy maxims and spirit by which 
they are swayed. He should make them 
feel that the noble work in which he is 
engaged, is something more than a mere 
profession or avocation — and that he seeks 
not the perishable good of this world 
chiefly, but the imperishable glory of 
Heaven. Thus w T ill he acquire an influ- 
ence of vast moment — an influence that 
will give force to every remonstrance and 
expostulation ; and which, with the bles- 
sing of God, may induce them, like him- 
self, to set their affections upon things 
above, and not upon things on the earth. 

It is the duty of the pastor to rule 
his household well. The Apostle whose 
words have been so often quoted upon 
other topics, is very explicit upon this : 
" A bishop must be one that ruleth w r ell 
his own house, having his children in 
subjection, w T ith all gravity. For if he 



44 DUTIES OF A PASTOR 

know not how to rule his own house, 
how shall he take care of the church of 
God." In his own domestic discipline, 
he should be an example to all the heads 
of families connected with his church. 
With what propriety or success can he 
give instruction in regard to family gov- 
ernment, while he does not exemplify its 
true principles in the management of his 
own household? How shall he rebuke 
others for governing badly, while he does 
net govern well? And if not innocent 
himself, he have the boldness to rebuke 
the guilty, what shall he expect but the 
retort, " Physician heal thyself?" Upon 
the faithful discharge of this duty, God 
has set the seal of the highest honor, 
and conferred the richest and most sub- 
stantial blessings. " Shall I hide from 
Abraham," said He, on the eve of the 
destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, 
"that thing which I do, seeing that 
Abraham shall surely become a great and 
mighty nation, and all the nations of the 
earth shall be blessed in him ? For I 
know him that he will command kis chil- 



TO ,HIS CHURCH. 45 

dren and his household after him, and 
they shall keep the way of the Lord to 
do justice and judgment) that the Lord 
may bring upon Abraham that which he 
hath spoken concerning him." On the 
other hand, upon the gross neglect of 
this duty, God has inflicted a fearful curse, 
and fixed the brand of eternal infamy. 
" Behold I will do a thing in Israel," 
said He to the young prophet Samuel, 
u at which both the ears of him that 
heareth it shall tingle. In that day I 
will perform against Eli all things which 
I have spoken concerning his house. — 
When I begin, I will also make an end. 
For I have told him that I will judge 
his house forever for the iniquity which 
he knoweth ; because his sons made them- 
selves vile, and he restrained them not, — 
And therefore I have sworn unto the 
house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli's 
house shall not be purged with sacrifice 
nor offering forever." 

He should give proper attention to all 
his private business. If this be neglect- 
ed, great injury to himself and the 



46 DUTIES OF A PASTOR 

church may result. Though his secular 
affairs be comparatively unimportant, if 
they fall into confusion, both his public 
and private character may suffer. Or he 
msy be grievously depressed by anxiety 
of mind. Corroding cares may embar- 
rass him in all his labors — deprive him 
of sleep — disturb him in his dreams — 
pursue him to the study, the closet, and 
the pulpit. If he would not be thus 
robbed of his strength and usefulness, as 
well as of his happiness, he must be 
" vigilant" and " prudent," that in his 
domestic and business relations, as in all 
other things, he may be " blameless." 

He should bear with the frowardness 
of his people. He must not expect from 
them too much. Some to whom he has 
given line upon line, and precept upon 
precept, will at last be incorrigible. But 
let him not suffer himself to become 
chafed or impatient. " The servant of 
the Lord must not strive, but be gentle 
unto all men, apt to teach, patient — in 
meekness instructing those that oppose 
themselves, if God peradventure will 



TO -HIS CHURCH. 4/ 

give them repentance to the acknowledg- 
ing of the truth, and that they may re- 
cover themselves out of the snare of the 
devil, who are taken captive by him at 
his will." 

Under the annoyances and difficulties 
to which the frailties and follies of his 
people may subject him, as well as amid 
all the toils and conflicts of life, he 
should strive to be an example of patient 
endurance. " Endure hardness," says 
Paul to Timothy, " as a good soldier 
of Jesus Christ." And of himself he 
affirms, " I endure all things for the 
elect's sake, that they may also obtain 
the salvation which is in Christ Jesus, 
with eternal glory." 

It is the duty of the pastor in all his 
sorrows and discouragements, to endure 
not only patiently, but hopefully. Woe 
betide his followers, if the heart of the 
leader fail. He cannot dispense with 
hope. It is one of the noble trinity of 
graces lying at the base of all christian 
energy, efficiency, and happiness. " Spring- 
ing immortal in the human heart," it is 



48 DUTIES OF A PASTOR. 

the elixir of the spiritual as well as of 
the natural life. 

He should be an example of benevo- 
lence. Like a valiant captain who in- 
spires his followers with heroism by lead- 
ing in every important action, the pastor 
of a church should incite his people 
to an ardent and expansive charity, by 
being foremost in every christian and 
philanthropic enterprise. It is unfortu- 
nate that his stipend is usually so 
small as that however generous, he is 
sometimes compelled to appear cold- 
hearted or niggardly. But having genu- 
ine charity, he will be able, in most in- 
stances, to appear in his true character. 
If he cannot contribute so largely as 
his wealthier brethren, of the goods of 
this world, to the poor and the institu- 
tions of benevolence, he has this to 
console him, that he may enrich them 
with spiritual treasure, and by a thousand 
acts of kindness exhibit the most affec- 
tionate interest in their behalf. 



CHAPTER IV. 

^ritrak SJIittistratinns. 

Pastoral Visitation. Spirit in which its various 
duties should be performed. Benefits to the Pastor — 
to the Church. 

The pastor should second and enforce 
the public dispensation of the Word, by 
private ministrations. This will involve 
the various duties of pastoral visitation. 
There is doubtless a tendency on the 
part of pastors, to feel chiefly interest- 
ed in the more public and imposing 
parts of their work — and to regard as 
a species of drudgery, and with some- 
thing of aversion, the humbler labors per- 
formed in private. They are strongly 



50 DUTIES OF A PASTOR. 

tempted to neglect the duties of visiting 
the sick — instructing the ignorant— gui- 
ding the enquiring — and admonishing the 
unconcerned. In the faithful perform- 
ance of these duties, however, pastoral 
success, as well as enjoyment, in no slight 
degree consists. 

It is thought by some needless un- 
der ordinary circumstances, to visit reg- 
ularly all the members of the church. 
The sick, and those who on any ac- 
count specially demand attention, should 
be visited; but beyond this, the ne- 
cessity of constant personal intercourse 
between the pastor and his people is not 
acknowledged. This is a very serious 
error. Nothing vi ill more endear him to 
his brethren, than the manifestation of an 
affectionate interest in all that pertains 
both to their temporal and spiritual wel 
fare. And nothing do they consider 
higher evidence of such interest, than 
frequent and cordial greetings at their 
own homes. Moreover, in visiting the 
members of his church, he will himself 
often find the highest pleasure and im- 



TO HIS CHURCH. 51 

provement. Sweet counsel will he take 
with those whose genial spirits diffuse 
gladness all around them. Those u in 
whose houses he may sit down at ease, 
when weary and loaded with care — into 
Avhose bosoms he may freely pour his 
sorrows; and by whose lips he may be 
soothed when he is vexed and perplex- 
ed — by whose illuminated minds he may 
be guided in difficulty — and by whose 
liberal and cordial co-operation he may 
be animated and assisted in every gene- 
rous undertaking." At other times, it 
is true, he will be deeply pained. He 
will meet with some who have a name 
to live, but are dead ; and whom he has 
no pcwer to quicken. With many who 
have forgotten their first love, and re- 
turned to the beggarly elements of the 
world ; and whom he cannot reclaim. — 
But even this may result in benefit to 
himself as well as others. 

While he may and ought to seek the 
love of his brethren for himself as a 
man, he should chiefly desire to be loved 
by them as their religious counselor and 



52 DUTIES OF A PASTOR 

friend, and in view of the influence for 
good, with which it may invest him. In 
his intercourse with them, he should not, 
on the one hand, be cold or too reserv- 
ed ; nor, on the other, should he ever 
descend to such familiarities as would 
degrade the true dignity of his office. — 
Some of the more worldly may desire 
his presence rather as incense to their 
pride, than as the means of spiritual 
improvement. His manner and spirit, 
however, should be such as not to suffer 
any, whatever their character, to suppose 
his visits are intended as mere social 
compliments. 

In his conduct towards different indi- 
viduals and classes, he should preserve 
the strictest impartiality. " I charge thee 
before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, 
and the elect angels, that thou observe 
these things, without preferring one be- 
fore another, doing nothing by partiality." 
He should not even seem to have any 
favorites. Above all, let him not be 
chargeable with making favorites of the 
wealthy and the influential. Miserable, 



TO HIS CHURCH. 53 

indeed, is the spirit that will flatter and 
caress the rich, and treat the poor with 
coldness and neglect. It cannot be 
that of a worthy follower of the 
despised Nazarene, who had not where 
to lay his head. 

But while the pastor should avoid par- 
tiality, he should pay great attention to 
the sick and the poor. They need his 
visits more than others — -desire them 
more — and are usually more benefitted by 
them. He should make himself acquaint- 
ed with their wants, and do all he can 
for their relief. He should speak words 
of sympathy and kindness — read the 
scriptures, whose " exceeding great and 
precious promises" are so well calculated 
to gladden and animate their hearts — 
make fervent prayer on their behalf — 
and aid them to the full extent of his 
aoility, by all substantial acts of love. 

Thus particularly regarding the poor, 
the conscientious pastor will not overlook 
the rich, who although sufficiently honor- 
ed by all merely worldly attentions, are 
often treated with the grossest spiritual 



54 DUTIES OF A PASTOR 

neglect. Their's is a position of high 
accountability, and of peculiar difficulty 
and danger. " It is easier for a camel 
to go through the eye of a needle, than 
for a rich man to enter into the kingdom 
of God." While so regarding the dig- 
nity and responsibility of his office, as 
not to be obsequiously attentive, he should 
never, through fear of" being charged 
with paying court to the rich, treat with 
indifference the wealthier members of his 
church. Fidelity to them is as ne- 
cessary as to any other class. That 
they deserve much of the regard of the 
pastor, is evident from the apostolic in- 
junction — " Charge them that are rich in 
this world, that they be not high-minded, 
and trust in uncertain riches, but in the 
living God, who giveth us all things 
richly to enjoy. That they do good, 
that they be rich in good works, ready 
to distribute, willing to communicate — 
laying up in store for themselves a good 
foundation against the time to come, 
that they may lay hold on eternal life." 
The pastor should pay strict attention 



TO HIS CHURCH. 55 

to the young. Their love is ardent. — 
Their hands are strong. But they need 
proper guidance. Left to themselves 
they may go astray, pierce themselves 
through with many sorrows, and bring 
reproach upon the church. Properly no- 
ticed, instructed, and encouraged, they 
will become pillars in the temple of their 
God. Their intellect, piety, and energy, 
will be developed and properly applied. 
And when their older brethren leave the 
church on earth, and join the general 
assembly and church of the first-born in 
heaven, they will nobly fill their places, 
and bear the burdens and the honors 
they bequeathe. 

The aged members of his flock, too, 
deserve the constant regard of the pas- 
tor. Those " who have borne the bur- 
den and heat of the day," should be 
highly honored, although incapable of ac- 
tive effort. As they are often so infirm 
as to be unable to attend the house of 
God, he should minister to them the con- 
solations of the gospel, at their own 
homes. Highly will they appreciate his 



56 DUTIES OF A PASTOR 

visits. And great as is the good that 
may result from them, he himself will 
receive the chief. They have passed- 
through the varying scenes of earth — al- 
most ripe for heaven, they are standing 
on the verge of time, looking with rapt 
vision into eternity — thus they enjoy 
an experience which he does not pos- 
sess, and are able to make suggestions, 
and impart lessons of wisdom, of the 
highest value. 

Attention is due to the heads of fam- 
ilies. u The life of religion," says Bax- 
ter, "and the welfare and glory both of 
the church, and of the state, depend 
much on family government and duty. 
If we suffer the neglect of this, we 
shall undo all." They should be made 
to understand all the duties of a natu- 
ral and spiritual character, which arise from 
the various relations they sustain, as rulers 
of households. And every right motive, 
every holy incentive to the faithful dis- 
charge of these duties, should be ear- 
nestly and perseveringly pressed upon 
their hearts. The pastor of a large church 



TO HIS CHURCH. 57 

will find it greatly to his own advantage, 
as well as that of his people, to pay at- 
tention to heads of families. He will 
thus raise up efficient co-adjutors, "rulers 
of hundreds, and fifties, and tens," who 
will render him essential aid, and free 
him from many a burden he would oth- 
erwise have to bear. " What are we 
like to do ourselves," says the eminent 
and excellent man whose words have 
been quoted above, " to the reforming of 
a congregation, if all the work be cast 
on us alone, and masters of families ne- 
glect that necessary duty of their own, 
by which they are bound to help us ? If 
any good be begun by the ministry in 
any soul, a careless, prayerless, worldly 
family, is likely to stifle it, or very much 
hinder it — whereas, if you could but get 
the rulers of families to do their duty, 
to take up the work where you left it, 
and help it on, what abundance of good 
might be done !" 

In the enumeration of classes to which 
attention should be paid, servants must 
not be omitted. They are peculiarly lia- 



58 DUTIES OF A PASTOR. 

ble to be overlooked and neglected. — 
And yet they are sometimes no inconsid- 
erable part of the pastor's flock. The 
rights and obligations of servants receiv- 
ed great attention in the Mosaic dispen- 
sation. And in the New Testament 
they are frequently stated and enforced. 
While he inculcates upon masters the pe- 
culiar duties of their position, and urges 
them to u give unto their servants that 
which is just and equal, knowing that 
they themselves also have a master in 
Heaven," the faithful pastor will " con- 
descend to the men of low estate," who 
are " under the yoke." He will address 
them in the terms and tones of love — 
and with simplicity and earnestness, in- 
struct them in all the duties of their 
sphere. He will " exhort servants to be 
obedient to their own masters, and to 
please them well in all things, not an- 
swering again, not purloining, but show- 
ing all good fidelity — that they may adorn 
the doctrine of God our Saviour in all 
things." 

Finally, to all the members of the 



TO HIS CHURCH. 59 

church, the pastor should pay due re- 
gard — adapting his instructions to their 
various wants. He should " warn them 
that are unruly — comfort the feeble-minded 
— support the weak — be patient toward 
all." If any wander from the fold, he 
should strive by kindness and affection 
to restore them — " rebuking not an elder, 
but entreating him as a father ; the 
younger men as brethren; the elder women 
as mothers ; the younger as sisters, with 
all purity." 

Some ministers visit too little — others 
too much. The former, of reserved spirit 
and retiring habits, or deeply devoted to 
study, easily persuade themselves that 
visiting is of little moment. The latter, 
more fond of society than of books, with 
equal facility bring themselves to believe 
that visiting is even more important than 
the ministrations of the sanctuary — and 
that they can accomplish, to use the or- 
dinary phrase, more out of the pulpit 
than in it. Both these classes are in 
error. Great is the good, which he who 
neglects to visit, fails to give and tc re- 



60 DUTIES OF A PASTOR 

ceive. And great is the evil he brings 
upon himself and others, who degrades 
pastoral visitation into mere calls of fash- 
ion and etiquette, or into the means of 
gratifying morbid social tastes, and dis- 
pelling the ennui of an unfurnished and 
inactive mind. 

While the minister of Jesus, in the 
true spirit of his Lord, goes about 
among his people doing good, how much 
of good may he derive from those who 
look to him for comfort and instruction! 
Frequently will he find new gems of 
truth, or old ones in new settings, of 
purest ray and highest value, in some- 
cheerless and uninviting vale of poverty. 
Frequently in the very deserts of suffer- 
ing and want, will the sweetest fountains 
of sympathy and joy be opened in his 
heart — fountains refreshing his own thirsty 
spirit, and flowing forth in brightness and 
beauty to cheer the hearts of those who first 
unsealed them. Often has the mountain 
sent forth its streams to gladden the vale 
with verdure, and flowers, and fruits. — 
And, as if in gratitude, the vale has 



TO HIS CHURCH. 61 

sent back the blessing in a coronet of 
clouds to bind the mountain's brow — in 
richest perfume wafted from its flow- 
ers — in showers refreshing, exhaled 
from its bosom, the generators of bles- 
sings greater than it had received. — 
The concentrated electricity of heaven, 
that bursts in peals terrific on the start- 
led world, was first derived from earth. 
"If I electrify the people," said an ora- 
tor with equal modesty and justice, "it 
is because they have first electrified me." 
And so it may be that many a minister 
has transcribed the sermon which has 
kindled the light of truth in a thousand 
minds, and the fires of love in a thou- 
sand hearts, from the tablets of. some 
lone heart which only his eye and that 
of God, had ever deigned to read. 

Another advantage of visiting, when 
crowned with the blessing of God, will 
be the development of the resources of 
the whole body of the church. u In a 
great house there are not only vessels of 
gold and of silver, but also of wood and 
of earth." And so in the church there 



62 DUTIES OF A PASTOR 

are diversities of character. With these 
the pastor should be acquainted. They 
are not always to be discovered at a 
glance. There is many a noble spirit 
in an ungainly body. Often is a bright 
mind hid under a clouded brow. Often 
is prodigious power lodged in a dimin- 
utive frame. Let the pastor avail himself 
of the facilities afforded by frequent and 
unconstrained visits, to acquaint himself 
with the peculiar mental and spiritual 
traits, as well as with the general char- 
acter of ail the members of his church. 
Thus will he be qualified with due 
discrimination to dispense, both private- 
ly and publicly, the v.ord of truth to 
all — and so to dispense it, as that, under 
its influence, in connection with the enlight- 
ening and animating power of the Spirit of 
God, each one shall find and fill his 
true sphere, and worthily occupy it till 
his Lord shall come. 

The development of the energies of 
all its members, is of unspeakable impor- 
tance to every church. It was one 
of the chief causes of the efficiency 



TO HIS CHURCH. 63 

of the primitive churches, as it is of 
that of many in the present time. To ef- 
fect it, should be a cardinal point with 
every pastor. All the members are im- 
portant, the obscure as well as the more 
conspicuous. As infinitesimal atoms prop- 
erly arranged and united by attractive 
forces, constitute the bulk and strength 
of the mountain, so the lowliest disciples 
of Christ, united by nobler affinities, may 
constitute the true greatness and efficiency of 
the church. In the epistle to the Romans, 
the Apostle Paul significantly compares 
the church of Christ to the human body. 
u As we have many members in one 
body, and all members have not the same 
office — so we being many are one body 
in Christ, and every one members one 
of another." In the first epistle to the 
Corinthians, he employs the same illus- 
tiation — " But now are they many mem- 
bers, yet but one body. And the eye 
cannot say unto the hand, I have no 
need of thee, nor again the head to the 
feet, I have no need of you. And 
whether one member suffer, all the mem- 



64 DUTIES OF A PASTOR 

bers suffer with it; or one member be 
honored, all the members rejoice with it. 5 ' 
Hence he argues the importance of every 
member of the church of Christ, to all 
the rest, and the necessity of each oc- 
cupying his true position, and exercising 
his proper functions. 



CHAPTER V. 

(tormitBtit nf tjp €§m$. 

% 

Nature and extent of the Pastor's authority. Re- 
ception of members. Administration of discipline. 
Management of business meetings. 

In the government of the Church, 
many important duties will devolve upon 
the pastor. He is its presiding officer. 
And in virtue of his position, he is cloth- 
ed with high authority. It is very evi- 
dent from numerous passages of the Word 
of God, that to rule the church, is one 
of his prerogatives. But not to rule in 
the absolute sense. He is the ruler of 
the church only with its own consent, — 
The rule he exercises is a service. The 



66 DUTIES OF A PASTOR 

very term minister, by which he is usual- 
ly designated, implies this truth. And 
arch-usurper though he be, the Roman 
Pontiff gives it at least a formal recogni- 
tion, when he subscribes himself — "Servant 
of the servants of God." The pastor 
of a church, then, is not its lord. Nor 
is he its legislator. He and his people 
are alike under the laws of Christ. — 
And it is his duty, as well as theirs, to 
obey them. It is his province to give in- 
struction with respect to these law T s, to 
enforce their authority by all just consid- 
erations, and in cases of flagrant and 
incorrigible disobedience, to bring the 
guilty before the church for trial. He 
cannot of himself compel submission, nor 
in default of it exclude from church fel- 
lowship. "Pastors," says Fuller, "are 
that to a church which the executive 
powers or magistrates of a free country 
are to the State, the organs of the law. 
Submission to them is submission to the 
law." Thus it appears that in the gov- 
ernment of the church, there is nothing 
arbitrary or despotic in the power of 



TO HIS CHURCH. 67 

the pastor. He governs by the consent 
of his brethren. He governs not by his 
own will, but by the laws of Christ — 
the only code they recognize. 

It is highly important that he under- 
stand the nature and extent of his pow- 
ers, and feel the necessity of exercising 
them without abuse or usurpation. Upon 
the right use of all his legitimate func- 
tions, depend so far as his instrumental- 
ity is concerned, the glory of God and 
the prosperity of his people. So long 
as he continues his official connection 
with the church, it is his duty to insist 
upon the recognition of his scriptural au- 
thority. While he can not trench upon 
the rights of his people, without trenching 
upon the prerogatives of his Lord, they 
cannot rebel against his just authority, 
without at the same time rebelling against 
Christ. But if he would govern suc- 
cessfully, let the pastor never forget that 
there must be a correspondence between 
his character and his office. The most 
rebellious do not revolt so much against 
government itself, as against the exercise 



68 DUTIES OF A PASTOR 

of its powers by individuals void of per- 
sonal worth and influence. 

In the reception of members great cau- 
tion is necessary. The interests of the 
church as well as of those applying for 
admission, must be consulted. Baptism 
precedes church-fellowship. The respon- 
sibility of administering it, attaches to the 
pastor. It is obviously his duty, there- 
fore, by free and full conversation with 
them, to satisfy himself in regard to the 
fitness or unfitness of applicants for this 
sacred right. It is not enough that the 
church is satisfied with their qualifications. 
He cannot throw his responsibility upon 
the church. 

In the examination of individuals with 
reference to baptism and union with the 
church, too great rigor is to be avoided. 
Upon points not absolutely essential, per- 
fect identity of experience in all, should 
not be expected or required. Allowance 
must be made for diversity of circum- 
stances, modes of thought, and ex- 
pression. Otherwise many whom God 
has accepted, and who would make val- 



TO HIS CHURCH. 69 

uable members of the church, may be 
denied admission, and debarred from a 
participation in its duties and privileges. 

But the chief danger lies in the opposite 
direction. And the pastor cannot be too 
strongly cautioned against it. Let him 
not lower the standard of truth. Let 
him not widen the portals cf heaven. — 
As sentinel at the gates of Zion, let him 
not admit into the citadel of God, any 
who do not give the proper countersign. 

There are many motives which may 
induce the pastor to sanction the recep- 
tion of unworthy persons. He may be 
influenced by selfish ambition. He would 
strengthen himself by the creation of a 
large party. He would form alliances 
with influential families of the world. — 
He would acquire consideration at home, 
and a name abroad. He may be sw T ayed 
by avarice. Many can sustain him bet- 
ter than a few. The rich better than 
the poor. Spurious charity or false del- 
icacy may actuate him. He would not, 
by their rejection, wound the sensibilities of 
applicants for membership. 



70 DUTIES OF A PASTOR 

By all means let him resist these evil 
influences. False professors do immense 
mischief in a church. They often con- 
trol its action — in some cases preventing 
the performance of what should be done, 
and in others precipitating the whole 
body upon unwise measures, which in- 
volve it in great embarrassment and per- 
plexity, if not in ruin. A few bad 
members may counteract and neutralize 
the influence of many of the best. As 
substances of low temperature in contact 
with those of greater heat, reduce it, so 
among christians do the luke-warm chill 
the ardor of the zealous and the active. 
And worse than this, 'there is abundant 
reason to believe that one wicked mem- 
ber may cause God to withold his bles- 
sing, and send a withering curse upon 
the church. The case of Achan bring- 
ing down the wrath of God upon the 
camp of Israel, if not ever realized in 
all its dreadful circumstances, is doubt- 
less, under modifications, re-enacted in 
many of our churches. Seeing that 
these and numerous other evils, may re- 



TO HIS CHURCH. 71 

suit from the introduction of unsuitable 
persons, let the pastor guard sedulously 
against their reception. 

He must not only guard the church 
from evil, by preventing the reception of 
unworthy persons ; but he must endeavor, 
by all scriptural means, to secure it 
against injury from wicked individuals 
who may be already connected with it. 
This will often involve duties most pain- 
ful, but duties from which he must not 
shrink. There can be, it is true, no ab- 
solute perfection on earth — not even in 
the church of Christ itself. But there 
should be the nearest possible approxi- 
mation to it. And this is to be made 
by attracting all that is good, and repel- 
ling all that is evil. 

In the administration of discipline, the 
duty of the pastor is plain. In the trial 
of offenders, he presides ; but he is not 
their judge. Nor is he their prosecu- 
tor or advocate. His duty is simply to 
state charges, expound the laws of Christ, 
and show their bearing on the offences 
alleged. With regard to conduct which 



72 DUTIES OF A PASTOR 

renders expulsion necessary, and the 
course to be pursued in every case of 
discipline, he will find ample instruction 
in the Word of God. This, in con- 
nection with sufficient knowledge of the 
character and circumstances of offenders, 
and an impartial christian spirit, is all 
he will require to direct him. Un- 
der his guidance, the action of the church 
w T ill be ratified by its divine Head. — 
" Whatsoever it binds on earth, will be 
bound in Heaven ; and whatsoever it 
looses on earth, will be loosed in Heav- 
en." 

The judicious management of business- 
meetings is necessary to the union, har- 
mony, and efficiency of the church, in 
these meetings ill feeling, strife, and 
schisms the most painful and injurious, 
may arise, the prevention of which will 
depend greatly upon the pastor. While 
firm and decided, he should set his 
brethren an example of meekness and 
forbearance. He should breathe the 
spirit of love, and with affectionate earn- 
estness urge upon them the advantage of 



TO HIS CHURCH. 73 

having fervent charity among themselves. 
This is "the bond of perfectness." It 
will give them one mind and one heart. 
It will produce unity of purpose, plan, 
and effort. Nothing will be done through 
strife or vain-glory. They will "bear 
one another's burdens, and so fulfil the 
law of Christ." 

Church-meetings are sometimes made 
arenas for debate, rather than occasions 
for mutual deliberation. This should be 
avoided. It may be proper also to 
suggest that they be held with closed 
doors. While difficult to perceive any 
good likely to result from making 
them public, it is easy to see that it 
may be productive of much evil. Indeed 
were it necessary, instances of the worst 
results might be adduced. 



CHAPTER VI. 

(total nattsigjit nf tip itttmsts nf tip 
Cjntttlj. 

Necessity of accessions to the church. Improper 
means of making additions. Ordinary and extraor- 
dinary efforts. Revivals. The Pastor must stimu- 
late his people to activity in every good work. Mis- 
sions — Sunday Schools. Religious books and jour- 
nals. 

In addition to the duties necessarily 
involved in preaching, visiting, and ad- 
ministering the laws o^the church, there 
are others embraced in the general over- 
sight of all its interests, eminently worthy 
the consideration of the pastor. 

A church requires something more than 
the mere edification of those already 



TO HIS CHURCH. 75 

within its pale. Removals by death and 
other causes, are frequently occurring. — 
And if there be no accessions to supply 
the deficiency thus experienced, the church 
will become extinct. Additions must be 
made by every proper means, as well for 
the permanence and prosperity of the 
church itself, as for the good of those 
whom it receives into its fellowship. — 
But to effect this most desirable end, let 
not the pastor, in his zeal, resort to im- 
proper measures. A noble end is never 
truly won by means unworthy. Alas ! 
that this important truth should be so 
much disregarded! How often are ani- 
mated and stirring appeals made to the 
carnal feelings of men — and excitements 
at variance with the wisdom that is pure, 
and peaceable, and gentle, created ! Un- 
der their influence individuals entirely de- 
void of true faith are introduced into the 
church — arid in some cases almost against 
their own will, by the persuasion of its 
pastor and over-zealous members ! A 
most unholy and unscriptural proselytism 
is often, in calmer times, the means of 



76 



DUTIES OF A PASTOR. 



building up a church. It is to be feared 
that the woe pronounced by Christ upon 
the Scribes and Pharisees who so eager- 
ly and unscrupulously sought to gain oth- 
ers to their views, will fall upon many 
in the present day, whose righteousness 
exceeds not theirs. Unutterably painful 
and disgusting are the flattering, and 
fawning, and the thousand unworthy arts of 
religious demagoguism. 

If the pastor be faithful, the ordinary 
ministration of the word will generally 
be attended with success, and there will 
be frequently added to the church such 
as shall be saved. It is, however, some- 
times necessary to make extraordinary ef- 
fort for the conversion of sinners, and 
the enlargement of the church. Iniquity 
abounds, and the love of many waxes 
cold ; and if the Spirit of God be not 
poured out upon the people, utter ruin 
will befall them. In such a state of 
things, all judicious and scriptural means 
for the revival of religion should be em- 
ployed. 

Revivals have been the greatest bles- 



TO HIS CHURCH. 77 

sings of modern churches, as they were 
of those in primitive times. They are 
indispensable. Without them the pastor's 
own soul will wither. The church will 
decline. The world will perish. Times 
of refreshing from the presence of the 
Lord are as necessary to the church as 
the dews of heaven are to the parched 
and thirsty earth. But they may come 
as gently, and by means as simple. It 
is to be deplored that through human 
weakness and depravity, blessings so in- 
estimable should be so little appreciated 
and so greatly abused. No heavier curse 
has ever fallen upon the churches, 
than those false excitements which a spe- 
cies of religious legerdemain, and the use 
of machinery inconsonant with the sim- 
plicity of the gospel, have sometimes 
caused. Upon this point much might be 
said, if the nature and the limits of this 
essay allowed. A caution against an evil 
closely connected with a misapprehension 
of the true source, nature, and end of 
revivals, is all that can be given. That 
evil is a depreciation of the ordinary 



78 DUTIES OF A PASTOR 

means of grace. Important as they are, 
too great stress is doubtless sometimes 
placed upon protracted meetings, and oth- 
er extraordinary means employed for the 
conversion of sinners, and the edification 
of believers. There is reason to think 
that many churches rarely or never expect 
their numbers to be increased by conver- 
sions, except at these special seasons, 
and in the use of these extraordinary 
means ; and that many persons inclined 
to seriousness, wait for such meetings, 
and times of general revival, as neces- 
sary to their conversion. 

But mere numbers do not constitute the 
true efficiency of a church. Its efficiency 
lies in its spirituality. Every thing 
therefore which tends to its development, 
should receive the highest encouragement. 
To its production, increase, and perma- 
nence, active effort is indispensable. The 
truth is the instrument of sanctification, 
because it prompts to action. The active 
hand warms the cold heart. Let then 
the pastor encourage every good word 
and work among his people. " This is 



TO HIS CHURCH. 79 

a faithful saying, and these things I will 
that thou affirm constantly, that they which 
have believed in God, might be careful 
to maintain good works. These things 
are good and profitable unto men." — 
Profitable to those who perform them., as 
well as to those for whom they are per- 
formed. 

A pastor should strive to animate his 
people with ardent love for the souls of 
men, and intense desire for their salva- 
tion. He should deeply impress upon 
their minds, and cause them to feel the 
full force of the truth, that the church 
was not instituted for the good of those 
alone w T ho compose it. That in its es- 
tablishment the welfare of the world was 
contemplated. That by its instrumentality 
the truth is to be disseminated in all 
lands, that all men may be enlightened, 
and sanctified, and saved. If he can 
thoroughly succeed in this, he will effect 
a great work — a great work for the sal- 
vation of sinners around him — for the 
progress of the gospel in the world at 
large — and a great work for his own 



80 DUTIES OF A PASTOR 

church. Its prosperity will be secured. 

We have heard much of the re- 
flex influence of missions. It is all 
true. And the principle upon which it 
is true, is of the widest application. — 
Let one perform an act of love for a 
brother, a friend, an enemy even — and 
he will find it true, in the noblest sense, 
that " action and reaction are equal." 
It is upon this principle that he that 
scattereth increaseth ; and that he that 
withholdeth more than is meet, so far 
from enriching, impoverisheth himself. — 
Earth yields her superabundant waters to 
the clouds, and they return them in re- 
freshing showers. She gives her fatness 
to the forest, and it enriches her with 
more than she bestowed. So the church 
pours out her wealth upon the world, 
and grateful hearts and hands receiving 
it, restore her own with usury, like him 
on whom five talents were conferred, and 
who returned the bounteous giver ten. 

All the fields of christian effort should 
be kept constantly before the church. — 
Every cause that has legitimate claims 



TO HIS CHURCH. 81 

upon its sympathy should be recognized 
— its true character set forth — and its 
proper place assigned. The best and 
most approved plans of benevolence should 
be adopted, and all the charities of the 
church made to flow without interruption, 
in their proper channels. As in the 
physic?l system, if the blood be impeded 
in its course through important arteries 
and veins, the health will decline ; and 
if it be wholly stopped, death will en- 
sue ; so in the spiritual system, if the 
channels in which flow the vital currents 
of the heart be obstructed, the spiritual 
health will decline ; and if they be closed, 
vitality itself will cease. 

There are many benevolent institutions 
which the pastor should always keep be- 
fore his people. In view of their supe- 
rior importance, Missions and Sabbath 
Schools are particularly mentioned. The 
heart of man, not naturally large, does 
not expand proportionably with the growth 
of the body and the development of the 
mind. Its constant tendencv is to 
contraction. If any thing can counteract 



82 DUTIES OF A PASTOR 

this tendency, it is the missionary spirit. 
It interests him who possesses it in all 
mankind. Under its influence he realizes 
that all men are his brethren, and like 
himself heirs to a life immortal. It in- 
terests him not speculatively ', but actively. 
He believes that the happiness or misery 
of many of them for interminable ages, 
is in no slight degree dependent upon 
himself. The world thus appears an 
arena, on which, as a being of thought 
and sympathy, and in some sense of 
physical energy, capable of compassing it, 
he may play a part of surpassing moral 
grandeur — a part whose performance will 
be anxiously watched by friends and foes, 
spectators from three worlds — earth, and 
heaven, and hell. How, inspired by all 
this, will his soul enlarge ! What grand 
conceptions will be his ! What lofty pur- 
poses! What noble deeds! He will 
not be an enthusiast. He will not be a 
visionary. He will be the most practical 
of men. And while, like the sun, diffu- 
sing his benign and animating influence 
abroad, he will be firmly fixed in his 



TO HIS CHURCH. 



83 



own true sphere, exerting his highest en- 
ergy, and shedding his brightest light 
at home. He will pray with greater 
faith and fervor than others. He will 
sing with more of the spirit and the un- 
derstanding. He will contribute more 
freely to the support of the pastor — to 
the general fund of the church — to the 
poor around him — and to every object of 
benevolence. How inestimable to any 
church the worth of such a spirit ! a 
spirit that could not be developed by 
any other than that sublime system 
whose vital principle is the principle of 
Missions. 

Beneficial to a church, as is the in- 
fluence of Missions, it is not more so than 
that of Sabbath Schools. No pastor faith- 
fully discharges his duty, who dees not 
in every suitable manner encourage the 
Sabbath School. Since the gospel was 
first promulgated, the world has under- 
gone innumerable changes. And although 
the gospel itself is still the same, 
its appliances and agencies have been 
modified to suit these changes. Jehovah 



84 DUTIES OF A PASTOR 

often revolutionizes the world, but it is 
not merely for the success or failure of 
its empires. It is for the advancement 
and glory of his church. Amid the 
confusion ot clashing social and political 
systems, to the dim eye of faith, she 
has sometimes been obscured — and many 
a timid and despairing soul has feared 
that she was lost. But with immortal 
vigor she has emerged from the shad- 
ows that eclipsed her, ail radiant with 
the light of heaven, and with the glory 
of her God. And at once her true posi- 
tion, with reference to the new order of 
things, has been assumed, and all her in- 
strumentalities adapted to its exigencies. 
This great and glorious fact, attested by 
all history, is illustrated strikingly in the 
admirable system of Sabbath School in- 
struction. Some former ages more reflec- 
tive than the present, were at once less 
active and less superficial. The motto of 
the world now is — the utmost possible effect 
in the least possible time. The church 
and the pulpit partake of the general 
spirit around them. And doubtless much 



TO HIS CHURCH. 85 

of the preaching of the day, taking 
character from this spirit, would fail to pro- 
duce any very salutary and permanent im- 
pression upon hearers who had not enjoyed 
the preliminary training of the Sabbath 
School. 

Truly is this institution "the nursery 
of the church." It would, seem that 
there could scarcely be any progress 
without it. The pastor may advocate the 
truth ; but truth may be unpopular. Or 
error stereotyped upon the mind, in- 
grained into the heart, and part of the 
very being of the old, may render it 
impossible to impress the truth upon them. 
But he can take the young and mould 
them, plastic as they are, upon truth's 
noblest model — the image of Christ. 

If the pastor wish the church to prosper — 
to be refreshed by revivals — to increase in 
numbers — to be well grounded in the 
principles of the gospel — to be a city set 
upon a hill, whose light cannot be hid, 
let him foster and sustain the Sabbath 
School. 

In stimulating the people of his charge 



86 DUTIES OF A PASTOR 

to effort in behalf of Missions and Sab- 
bath Schools as well as all other chris- 
tian enterprises, the pastor will find good 
religious books and journals valuable, not 
to say indispensable, auxiliaries. Those 
who read them most, will generally profit 
most by his instructions. They will take 
more enlarged and correct views of di- 
vine truth, of the sphere of christian ef- 
fort, and of their own individual duties 
and responsibilities. It would doubtless 
be found, upon investigation, that the most 
zealous, enlightened, and useful individ- 
uals in all our churches, are those who, 
in addition to the faithful ministry of 
the word, have availed themselves most 
fully of the advantage of the best re- 
ligious books and journals. 



CHAPTER VII. 

(EirltisitiB Branta in |%inrnl Tafott. 

Avoidance of secular pursuits. Necessity of Pas- 
toral support. Charge of more churches than one. 

The faithful performance of the duties 
stated in the preceding chapters, to say 
nothing of others which may arise under 
the varying circumstances of his office, 
will manifestly require of the pastor ex- 
clusive devotion to his proper work. All 
secular pursuits must be avoided. It is 
not possible to feel proper interest in two 
diverse departments. If secular business 
be preferred to ministerial duties, as is 
sometimes the case, it will call forth 
more exertion. Additional effort will 
produce greater interest — increasing inter- 



88 DUTIES OF A PASTOR 

est renewed effort, and so on reciprocal- 
ly, until the favored pursuit will absorb 
all thought and feeling, and the other 

be neglected perhaps abandoned. 

" No man can serve two masters — for 
either he will hate the one, and love the 
other; or else he will hold to the one, 
and despise the other." This is a truth 
of universal application. Concentration 
is necessary in every department of ef- 
fort. There can be no high achievement 
without it. In the w r ork of the ministry, 
it is of transcendent importance. It 
might almost be said that without it, 
nothing can be achieved. And yet while 
Paul, referring to the duties of the min- 
istry, exclaimed with the deepest self- 
abasement — u Who is sufficient for these 
things?" — many a minister of our day 
has seemed to feel more than sufficient 
for them, and has assumed in addition, 
the duties of the physician, or lawyer, 
or politician, or school-master, or farmer, 
or merchant. " No man that warreth, 
entangleth himself with the affairs of 
this life." Would that these words were 



TO HIS CHURCH. 89 

engraven on the heart of every pastor! 

While it is generally incumbent on the 
preacher of the gospel to devote himself 
exclusively to the work of the ministry, 
there are circumstances under which it is 
not his duty. He may have a family 
dependent on him, be without private 
fortune, and in the providence of God be 
called to preach to a people unable to 
give him a salary adequate to his sup- 
port. Under such circumstances he may 
lawfully have recourse, in connection 
with his ministry, to some honorable sec- 
ular pursuit. 

That he should ever be compelled by 
the circumstances just mentioned, to 
engage in secular pursuits to provide 
for the necessities of himself and his 
household, is to be lamented. But when 
without necessity, and from ambition or 
avarice, he does so, his course cannot 
be too strongly condemned. Surely the 
minister of Him who contemned all 
earthly glory, should not prize it above 
that which God only can bestow. And 
surely he should not be " greedy of filthy 



90 DUTIES OF A PASTOR. 

lucre," whose duty it so often is to en- 
force upon the attention of others, that 
awful declaration of the Apostle — "They 
that will be rich, fall into temptation and 
a snare, and into many foolish and hurt- 
ful lusts which drown men in destruc- 
tion and perdition. For the love of 
money is the root of all evil, which 
while some coveted after, they have erred 
from the faith and pierced themselves 
through with many sorrows." 

To be devoted exclusively to the du- 
ties of his office, it is manifest that the 
pastor must receive a support. It is his 
duty to claim this, and to instruct his 
people with respect to it. With the 
precepts of the Bible and the weighty 
considerations of propriety and right that 
bear upon this subject, he should make 
them thoroughly acquainted. Before ac- 
cepting the call of a church, adequate 
provision for his salary should be made. 
The prejudices entertained by some per- 
sons against stipulated salaries, are very 
unreasonable, and should be opposed and 
overcome. How shall the pastor pro- 



TO HIS CHURCH. 91 

ceed, if he do not know the amount of 
his income ? All would pronounce it a 
folly and a sin, if he should live beyond 
it. How can this reproach be avoid- 
ed, if he be compelled to live with an 
indefinite and often very erroneous esti- 
mate of his resources ? The pastor's 
salary, however small, is generally his whole 
income. By all means let him know what 
it is, and when he shall receive it, that he 
may be able so to regulate his expenses, 
charities, and all pecuniary matters, 
as to live like an independent, hon- 
orable, christian man, meeting prompt- 
ly all engagements. 

There is a great deal of false delicacy 
among ministers. It is a prolific source 
of evil to themselves and to the churches. 
They will sometimes suffer great pecu- 
niary embarrassment, deeply involve them- 
selves in debt, injure their religious and 
ministerial character, and impair their in- 
fluence, rather than summon the boldness 
to tell the churches their duty. A reform 
in regard to ministerial support, is great- 
ly needed. And to effect it, pastor's 



92 DUTIES OF A PASTOR 

should not only tell the churches their 
duty, and insist upon their own scriptural 
claims , but, whenever practicable, they 
should withdraw from all secular employ- 
ments, and with a noble confidence 
throw themselves upon the providence of 
God, and the justice and liberality of 
the churches. 

Withdrawing from all secular pursuits, 
and devoting himself exclusively to the 
duties of his office, the pastor should 
guard against an evil little less than 
partial secularization. It is the extension 
of his ministerial labors over too wide a 
field. The charge of one church is 
enough — more than enough — for one man. 
It is to be regretted that in the existing 
state of things, a minister is often com- 
pelled to assume the pastoral care of 
more than one church. " Necessity is a 
law that supercedes the ordinary rules of 
human conduct." There are already 
many more churches than ministers. — 
They have doubtless been unwisely mul- 
tiplied. But still they exist. And they 
must not be left wholly destitute of pas- 



TO HIS CHURCH. 93 

toral attentions. This cannot be 

avoided, unless ministers divide their ser- 
vices between two or more, as some 
of them are so small and feeble, that one 
alone cannot support a pastor. 

In view, however, of the evils of 
divided energies, both to himself and to 
the people, every pastor who has charge 
of a plurality of churches should relin- 
quish all but one, whenever he can do 
so without a disregard of conscience and 
the providence of God. This will re- 
quire no little sacrifice of feeling, and in 
some instances of pecuniary advantage, 
on the part of the ministry. But they 
should make it, and strive to imbue the 
churches with the generous and self-de- 
nying spirit by which they themselves 
are actuated. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

tfujrnng^ nf |kstol Etlaiinus. 

Migratory character of our Ministry. Evils re- 
sulting. Change of pastoral relations sometimes 
necessary. Spirit in which it should be made. 

If the pastor would form habits of 
systematic and thorough study, develope 
his best energies, and establish a solid 
and enduring character ; if he would 
secure the highest interests of the church, 
and fulfil all the obligations pressing up- 
on him, let him guard against that cry- 
ing evil of our times — the migratory 
spirit of the ministry. When a minister 
assumes the charge of a church, he enters 
into one of the closest and most impor- 
tant connections that csn be formed. — 



TO HIS CHURCH. 95 

And shall it be lightly broken ? Shall a 
pressure of labors — a slight decline in 
health — a prominent position or high sal- 
ary offered by a stronger cr more nota- 
ble church — or a restless, change-loving 
disposition, tempt him to leave those 
over whom the Spirit and the Provi- 
dence of God have placed him ? Shall 
he chill the affectionate ardor, shall he 
disappoint the confidence, of those who 
perhaps contemplating a permanent con- 
nection, have committed their dearest in- 
terests to his charge ? If so, it is not 
surprising that they should be sometimes 
slow T to bestow upon him the fulness of 
their confidence and love. And yet with- 
out it, there can be no success to the 
pastor, or prosperity to the church. Unless 
both parties feel thoroughly committed to 
each other, there can never be the cor- 
dial sympathy and active co-operation in- 
dispensable to mutual efficiency and hap- 
piness. 

Incalculably great is the injury produ- 
ced by this change-loving spirit. Its 
constant tendency is to prevent the for- 



96 DUTIES OF A PASTOR 

mation of habits of systematic and per- 
severing study on the part of the minis- 
try, and to break them up when formed. 
This is an evil of great magnitude. The 
brilliant genius, elastic, quick, impulsive, 
whose course is rather a leaping and 
bounding forward, than any ordinary pro- 
gression — and he who, marvellously gift- 
ed, finds 

"Tongues in the trees, books in the running brooks, 
Sermons in stones, and good in every thing" — 

may perhaps win enviable fame with- 
out methodical and uninterrupted study. 
But most men, not thus endowed, can- 
not in the same way achieve the same 
thing. If they Mould make any consid- 
erable advance, their steps unintermitted 
must be in no broken lines. 

While this spirit destroys the best hab- 
its of study, it takes away some of the 
strongest incentives to exertion, strengthens 
the native tendency to indolence, and 
forestalls the highest mental progress. — 
Having once prepared " a stock of ser- 
mons," the migratory pastor's life-long 
work is done. Thenceforth to acquire 



TO HIS CHURCH. 97 

fresh matter, originate new thoughts, in- 
vent new illustrations, does not material- 
ly concern him. He conducts his last 
flock to the dry and scanty pasturage on 
which the first and all succeeding ones 
had fed. 

Thus deeply injuring the intellectual, 
it does not leave the moral man untouch- 
ed. Frequently wounding the best and 
finest feelings of the heart, it at length 
renders them either morbidly acute, or as 
is more generally the case, obtuse and 
callous. 

But these are not the only evils. It 
increases that general instability, that uni- 
versal fickleness, that morbid love of nov- 
elty and change, for which the present 
age is so remarkable. It often sacrifices 
to present effect, the highest and most 
substantial future interests. It renders 
abortive the noblest and most compre- 
hensive plans of usefulness, which if de- 
vised cannot be completed in an unset- 
tled state. It causes the pastor to feel 
that if at any time his position should 
become uneasy, change, that all-sufficient, 



98 DUTIES OF A PASTOR 

ever-ready remedy, will afford complete 
relief. Hence he becomes too independ- 
ent of local circumstances , too indifferent 
to the establishment of high and lasting 
reputation in the community, and too 
transient in his residence, to secure that 
influence over different classes, particular- 
ly the young and rising generation, which 
is alike necessary to his own influence 
and their welfare. 

Great injury to the church also re- 
sults — injury arising mainly from that ex- 
perienced by the pastor. The prosperity 
of the former is inseparably connected 
with the efficiency of the latter. What- 
ever affects the one is felt, and often 
with increased power, by the other. — 
If the pastor be superficial, his people 
will be poorly instructed — many will perish 
for lack of knowledge. If he be un- 
duly mindful of outward and present ef- 
fect, they will scarcely penetrate below 
the surface, or look beyond the passing 
hour. If he be ruled by the spirit of 
change, they will be unsteady as the 
wind. If he have no character, the 



TO HIS CHURCH. 99 

church will have no weight. 

By the foregoing remarks, it is 
not intended that a pastor ought never 
to leave his church. There are circum- 
stances under which not to dissolve the 
connection, would be deeply injurious to 
both, as well as to the common cause 
whose interests are paramount to any 
mere individual or local considerations. 
But it is intended that he ought not, 
under any circumstances, to leave his 
people without good and sufficient reasons. 

Whenever he finds it necessary to re- 
sign his charge, the pastor should guard 
against the rise of unpleasant feeling 
between his brethren and himself. It 
sometimes happens that those who have 
lived together for years, in the closest 
intimacy, sharing mutual hopes, toils, 
joys, and sorrows, part under cir- 
cumstances the most unfortunate. All the 
sweet charities and offices of kindness, 
for which the past had been distinguish- 
ed, seem at once forgotten. They look 
coldly on each other, and speak in terms 
of indifference, if not of disparagement ! 



100 DUTIES OF A PASTOR 

This should never be! Why should 
not the pastor love the church af- 
ter he resigns its oversight ? And why- 
should not the church reciprocate his 
love r 



CHAPTER IX. 

&mifmn in fyt ^nstnwl (Dir*. 

Provision against leaving the church without a 
pastor. Encouragement of the gifts of the young. 
Proper caution in ordaining. 

In prospect of his own removal, the 
pastor in connection with the church, 
should endeavor to provide a suitable 
successor. " The things that thou hast 
heard of me among many witnesses, the 
same commit thou to faithful men, who 
shall be able to teach others also." 
The right of choosing its own officers, 
unquestionably belongs to the church. — 
And it should be exercised without dic- 
tation from any one. But with the 
greatest propriety may the retiring pastor 



102 DUTIES OF A PASTOR. 

give his advice. Indeed to do so is his 
duty. Knowing better than others the 
ministerial qualifications adapted to its 
wants, he can render in this par- 
ticular essential aid. 

He should seek out and encourage the 
gifts of the young. There may be in- 
dividuals of this class, possessing sterling 
piety and noble intellectual endowments, 
whose modesty and habits of retirement 
keep them in the back-ground. These 
he should instruct and bring forw r ard, 
and by suitable exercises train and devel- 
ope. Thus may he form a noble band 
of youthful assistants, who shall render 
him valuable aid while he continues w T ith 
the church, and from among whom may 
be chosen — when his own connection 
with it is dissolved — a " faithful man," 
to whom he may " commit" the truth of 
God, and the spiritual interests of his 
people. 

In consideration of the importance of 
the ministerial office, he should cautious- 
ly exercise the power of ordaining. — 
"Lay hands suddenly on no man — neith- 



TO HIS CHURCH. 103 

er be partaker of other men's sins — keep 
thyself pure." Immense mischief is 
wrought not only to particular churches, 
but to the cause of Christ in general, 
by the introduction of unsuitable persons 
into the ministry. From want of due 
caution on the part of those with whom 
the responsibility of ordaining rests, men 
notoriously incompetent to the perform- 
ance of the duties of any important 
secular station, are sometimes appointed 
to the most momentous spiritual work in 
which man can engage. Men of little 
mind — of no high native moral attri- 
butes — of no culture, or personal digni- 
ty, or weight of character, if indeed 
they are possessed of anything of true 
piety ! This is a scandal to the church, 
and a curse to the world. As well for 
his guidance in the responsible work of 
inducting others into the christian minis- 
try, as for his own personal improve- 
ment, the pastor should closely study 
that striking sketch of a christian bishop, 
drawn by the apostle Paul — U A bishop 
must be blameless as the steward of God ; 



104 DUTIES OF A PASTOR 

not self-willed, not soon angry, not given 
to wine, no striker, not given to filthy 
lucre ; but a lover of hospitality, a lover 
of good men, sober, just, holy, temper- 
ate, holding fast the faithful word as he 
hath been taught, that he may be able 
by sound doctrine, both to exhort and to 
convince the gain-sayers." 

In conclusion, the writer of the fore- 
going pages, begging God to enable him 
faithfully to discharge the duties which 
he is conscious of having but inade- 
quately urged upon others, would say to 
each of his brethren to whose charge a 
church of Christ is committed — " Medi- 
tate upon these things ; give thyself 
wholly to them, that thy profiting may 
appear to all. Take heed to thyself and 
unto thy doctrine ; continue in them : for 
in doing this, thou shalt both save thy- 
self and them that hear thee." 






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